The Creepshow
by Mislav
Summary: Super Scary (or not) Halloween challenge. "The Creepshow"-TBBT style. Three horror stories, three non-canon pairings: Sheldon/Leslie, Stuart/Lucy and Sheldon/Alex. AU, OOC. Rated M for violence and some sexual content.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I don't own any of "The Big** **Theory" characters and I am not making any money from writing this.**

 **Please forgive any minor spelling or grammar mistakes, Emglish is not my native language.**

 **1\. Must be a non-canon pairing: Sheldon/Penny, Leonard/Amy, Howard/Raj, Amy/Raj, Bernadette/Penny, etc. (Please remember to list the pairing in the description.)**

 **2\. Must be supernatural (vampires, witches, werewolves, ghosts, demons, etc.) OR a Murder Mystery (think Christie, Doyle, Clue/Cluedo, Scooby Doo gang etc.) OR you can take a scene/chapter from your favorite (scary) play/book/movie and rewrite it for your non-canon pairing.**

 **3\. Must be a one-shot, or a multi-chapter (but no more than 5,000 words).**

 **This story is titled after the cult anthology horror movie, "The Creepshow". I am, personally, not the biggest fan of it, but it is presented in the "shape" of a horror comic book, so it is especially fitting to this fandom, isn't it?**

 **Much like "The Creepshow", this is a horror anthology. The first "story" in this... well, story, contains Sheldon/Leslie pairing (Sheslie!). The second is Stuart/Lucy (Stucy!); there are mentions of canon pairings at the beginning, but they aren't featured. The third one is Sheldon/Alex (Shalex!), with some Sheldon/Leonard (Shelnard!) and Howard/Raj (Woothrappali?) friendship, but not heavily featured. The wrap around story involves Claire, but not in a relationship with Raj. I was uncertain about including her because she is still an underdeveloped character. But I needed a character in present time (or close to it), not really familiar with the main characters yet, for the wrap-around story to work (the twist included). And I liked that They finally introduced a female geek, a girl interested in science-fiction and comic books. She first appeared in "The Meemaw Materialization".**

 **No character bashing, but also non-canon pairings. So, if that bothers you, don't read this. And no Shenny, so if you are a fan of that non-canon pairing, you won't find it here (nothing against it, I just prefer other pairings). And if you don't like the horror genre, don't read this either.**

Claire sighed, standing up from her desk. She lacked creativity over the last couple of days, for some reason. And the dead line was approaching. She took a quick look outside, observing the dark night full of stars, before opening the closet and reaching for the box on the bottom. She pulled it out and placed it on the bed before lifting the lid.

That's what would usually help her. Her "vintage" comic book collection. That would always better her mood. She smiled, going through all the comic books again, re-reading them or simply flipping through the pages. If anything else, that was always good entertainment...

She suddenly stopped, staring at one of the comic books on the near bottom. She didn't remember having it there, like, ever. But there it was. Interesting title... "The Big Bang Theory". It sounded fitting for a science-fiction type of comic book, but, judging by the illustration and a brief summary on the title page, it was closer to a horror genre.

How come she never noticed that comic book before? And what was it about? She opened it and started reading the first page, soon becoming completely immensed into the story...

#

Sheldon grinned as he took another look at his award, hanging on the wall, right next to his desk. His latest paper had finally gotten the recognition it deserved. He just turned his attention back toward the equation on the board, when he heard a familiar-and irritating-voice...

"Congratulations. You got lucky for once, dumbass."

"You see? That is why nobody likes you", Sheldon replied, making Leslie roll his eyes. "And I didn't get lucky. My award is well earned, a product of a paper than, in turn, was a product of months of research."

"In your-dumbass-opinion", Leslie pointed out, walking over to Sheldon, a smug look on her face. "But, opinions aside, you could, in true-original-sense of the word, "get lucky"", she purred before kissing Sheldon on the lips.

Sheldon flinched, taking an abrupt step back. "What are you doing?", he asked, his cheeks blushed.

"What do you think I'm going?", Leslie purred, looking him straight in the eyes.

Sheldon gulped. "No matter what cheap insults this confession could aspire, I should remind you that I find any form of physical contact with people, especially close, physical ones, intimate ones, to be repulsive. Due to the germs. And bacteria. And it would distract me from my work."

"Or, maybe, it would clear your mind", Leslie suggested. "Keeping so many things bottled up... must take it's toll", she whispered, her fingers gently brushing over the bulge that was tenting Sheldon's crotch.

"Modesty, woman!", Sheldon cried, jumping aside. Leslie chuckled.

"If you are so brilliant... do you really think something like sex would have such an effect on your research?", she questioned. "What does that say about you?"

Sheldon sighed. "Great, you are actually proposing coitus now."

"Think of it as an experiment. You claim to excel at everything you do."

"But..."

"If you are such a germ-phobe or whatever, why didn't you push me away when I kissed you? When I... touched you?" "Besides, we could always have fun in the shower."

"I... I guess...", Sheldon stuttered, before regaining his composture, glaring at Leslie. "You are playing a trick on me, right?", he accused her. "Some sort of... conquest? First Leonard, than Howard... did they put you up to this?"

"No. But good that you mentioned them. You see, Leonard and I just aren't on the same level. Emotionally, intelectually. He wants a serious relationship... blah. You must admit, the two of us have spent a lot of energy insulting each other. Now we can put it to better use." She grinned. "Every tension is a sexual tension. At least in some ways."

"Because, for you, everything has something to do with sex", Sheldon snapped back.

"And food", Leslie calmly replied. "Two of the most basic human urges."

Sheldon's mind was working hard on coming up with a reply. After he opened his mouth, with an intent to refute Leslie's argument, what came out was: "I will be alone at my apartment tonight. Howard and Raj are at one more of their "late night escapades in some club". I'm done with this teasing. You show up, or you don't. Your choice."

#

They didn't do it in the shower after all. Sheldon couldn't figure out why, exactly. Maybe he jusr didn't want to defile the ducks. But he did demand her to apply Purell to her hands (after he had done so himself), not to mention the use of his specially selected mouth wash. She had to apply a condom on him, since that task ended up being strangely complicated for him, but he didn't mind much.

Everything else progressed relatively easy from there. After she lied down on his bed, he climbed on top of her, positioning himself between her legs. He felt warm sensation spread through his body as he entered her, unlike anything he had ever felt before. He felt like he was going to come any minute, but he managed to calm down and started thrusting in and out of her. It was a bit clumsy at first, because they seemed to struggle over who will be on the top. But, eventually, Sheldon established that position. Leslie didn't react much at first, but eventually, she stared moaning, her body relaxing and her nipples hard. But she never closed her eyes and, luckily for Sheldon, didn't even seem to sweat.

Maybe it was that easy because he finally had a chance to beat Leslie at something. That could explain his eagernerss. Not that there was ever any doubt that he was smarter than her, but still...

He moaned as he thrust into Leslie again, shudders ripping through his muscles. He groaned upon feeling her tighten around him, a moan leaving her lips. He continued thrusting even harder, studying Leslie's reactions in awe. He didn't even mind when they turned around so she was on the top, though he noted that Leslie seemed to have quite the strength.

As the sweet relief took over his body, all his fears and concerns finally gone, Leslie leaned over, her lips brushing against his ear. "Do you want me to take this even further?", she whispered seductively, moaning slightly as her walls pulsed against Sheldon's hard member.

"Y-yes", he groaned, his orgasm already working from his toes to back. His body started to shake as Leslie's mouth pressed against the side of his neck hard, her tongue lapping against his sweaty skin aggressively, her teeth scrapping down his flesh...

Pain ripped through his body as something long and sharp sank down his neck, blood-quirling sensation followed by a strange rush of thrill and adrenaline. He tried to scream, to break free, but an incredible amount of strength, pressure, coming from somewhere (Leslie?), kept him in a dead grip. His body was finally released, limp and weak but alive (in a way) and free, and he watched in terror as Leslie rose up, blood around her mouth. She grinned wickedly at him, licking away the last traces of ruby red wetness, before swiping up a few drops that had dripped over her breasts and neck.

"It took me a lot of self control, not to suck you off completely-pun most definitely intended. But then... you would be dead."

Sheldon umped off the bed, staring at Leslie with dread. But she was calm.

"You know what they say, Sheldon. Keep your friends close, and enemies... But you are on my side now. You must be. But, if we were to spend centuries together, I needed to check, how good you actually are in... some things. And, for your first time, you were pretty damn good."

"You!", Sheldon groaned before slapping her over the face. Leslie gasped silently, but barely showed any other reaction.

"Be nice, Sheldon", Leslie hissed as she turned to face him, her face free of any trace of an injury. Sheldon froze in place as she reached for a letter opener on the bedside table. "This oughts for a punishment..."

Before he could react, she stabbed him with the letter opener, right in the heart. Well, she attempted to. The blade couldn't even cut through the skin, let alone penetrate the flesh. Sheldon stared at his body and then the weapon with wide eyes, having felt little to no pain. Leslie laughed.

"Swell, huh?", Leslie commented, grinning. "Now get dressed-or don't, as far as I'm concerned-and listen. I need to teach you a few things..."

#

Sheldon looked down at his plate, moving food from left to right. It surprised him that nobody would notice he wasn't actually eating anything, just pretending to. Not even his closest friends. Some people would give him odd looks at times, but that was about it. Such a simple ruse, yet so effective.

With derision, he glared at a few geologists in the very corner of the cafeteria, whining about their lack of funds. Still, he smiled slightly, knowing that they could never rise to power in CalTech, or Pasadena... not after he and Leslie started with all those sock accounts on Geology forums over the Internet, luring stupid young quasi scientists to isolated locations, and then feeding on them. As it turned out, Leslie hated them as much as he did. At least they had something in common. Except for them both being vampires, at least.

That conclusion was sort of rendered mute when Leslie walked over and insulted him. Ever since she had "turned" him, those tensions were mostly just a ploy, a facade, but annoying never the less. Sheldon didn't want to cause an angry debate where one of them could let something incriminating slip, so he just called her a mean person. Sheldon was relieved when Leslie left, and, at first, he didn't even notice a grad student approaching him.

"Excuse me, dr. Cooper. I'm Ramona Nowitzki..."

#

"From what you just said, that Ramona girl really is something", Leslie commented, pacing around Sheldon's office.

"She is special", Sheldon confirmed, nodding his head. "As you must know, at some point in our long lives, we will both need someone more than a partner in crime and..."

Leslie smirked. "A fuck-buddy."

"Yeah", Sheldon agreed with a sigh. "But there is something different about this girl."

Leslie shrugged. "Try." She took a step closer, looking Sheldon straight in the eyes. "But if she turns out not to be as special as you currently deem her as, or she seems to be on to something, or disappoints you... we both know how that will end."

"We sure do, Leslie."

#

Claire laughed out loud after finishing the story. How come she never noticed that comic book before? She immediately moved on to the second story...

 **A/N: Have you ever wondered why everyone on The Big Bang Theory seems to just move the food around on their plates instead of actually eating something? And why Ramona was never seen nor mentioned again? No questions now! Happy Halloween!**

 **(And yes, I believe that Sheldon and Leslie could only be intimate in some way if she were to propose it as an experiment or as a challenge. And that it would be the best for Sheldon not to agree on that. Too much risk.)**


	2. Chapter 2

Sheldon, Leonard, Howard and Raj were close to leaving the comic book store, having found no interesting purchases. They talked while going through the comic books.

"Anyway, I won't be able to make it to the "Halo night"", Raj remarked, a smirk appearing on his face. "I'll most definitely be... too busy tonight, if you know what I mean."

Leonard rolled his eyes, sighing heavily. "We all know that you're seeing two women at the same time, Raj", Leonard groaned. "Knock it off."

Sheldon scoffed, flipping through the comic books. "Two at the same time! No wonder your work", he commented, receiving a death glare from Raj. "I, as brilliant as I am, can barely deal with one!"

"Yes, a woman who was even willing to wait five years to have sex with you", Leonard commented, sarcastically. "I feel your pain."

Sheldon gave him a grateful look. "Thank you", he exclaimed honestly.

Howard's ringtone went off. He pulled his phone out and read the text he had received. "Gotta pick up Oreos and a jar of Mustard for Bernadette", he said. "Say what you want, but pregnancy, as a whole, is just bizarre."

Sheldon looked up, his eyes wide. "It just occurred to me", he exclaimed. "Howard is not just the first of us to get married, but also the first of us to become a father!" He turned his attention back to the comic books. "Real world still doesn't fail to shock me, from time to time at least", he couldn't help but say.

"Don't forget, also the first-and, so far, the only one-from this group to have gone to space", Howard reminded Sheldon smugly, ignoric his last remark.

Stuart was standing behind the counter, staring blankly at that group of lucky, so damn lucky nerds from accross the store. Their voice echoed painfully clear throughout his otherwise empty (so empty...) comic book store, the only other audible noise being an occasional blow of sharp, cold wind, that would shoot through the dark, starless night outside. Girlfriends, wives, children. Friends. Careers, fame, money. Everything. They had it all, while he pretty much had nothing, or close to nothing. Why? Where they better than him? How? Hadn't he tried, so hard, for so long? No results. Just an emptiness and darkness, frightening but undeniable in it's clarity.

Wheh he realized that they were about to leave, he walked over to them, and spoke up.

"Hey, guys...", he started. "See anything you like?"

"Not really", Sheldon replied before others could stop him. "But I must say that I am disappointed that you still haven't put any copy of "New World" up for sale."

"What?", Stuart asked. Others groaned immediately.

"It is a relatively new comic book, about a comic book artist who gets sucked into the comic world that he himself has created", Sheldon explained enthusiastically. "Quite fascinating."

"Well, I haven't gotten around to obtaining it yet", Stuart admitted, trying to sound polite.

Sheldon looked away. "Maybe buying comic books online isn't such a bad idea..."

"Time to go", Leonard exclaimed, heading for the door. "Let's go, Sheldon. Dungeons and dragons and Thai food and... let's go!"

Soon, all four of them left without buying anything, leaving Stuart standing there alone, staring after them aimlessly.

Soon afterward, Stuart emptied the cash register, turned the lights off, and went upstairs to his apartment. He closed and locked the door behind, sighed, stored those two dozens dollars into his bedside table, then sat at his writing desk, reaching for a pen and paper instantly.

Stuart was an artist. He hadn't had much time, or will, to concentrate on that lately. But drawing would always calm him down. More or less.

He began drawing before he even thought out the idea clearly. In fact, he felt like he couldn't even comprehend it clearly, completely, until it were to manifest itself on the paper, within the spilled ink. He was creating that world, fictional but never the less captivating, frightening yet beautiful, mysteries yet understandable, right. His drawings made out of dark ink, with curious shapes creating shadovy characters and places, the dark coridors only occasionally with ruby red color... the color of blood, human blood. Only that and an occasional bright yellow tones, meant to highlight the stainless sharp blade, an ultimate weapon of justice, the only companion to a nameless character making his way throught the dark, cold, deadly night.

He finally put the pen down, and observed his work. It both amazed and shock him. So well drawn, but so dark. So beautiful, but so violent.

He pushed the papers away, then pulled his old laptop open. He logged into his email account, opened the latest email in his inbox, and began writing a reply to the woman who he only knew as "MysteryLady".

He met her on the Internet, six months ago: he first encountered her upon reading one of her wonderful stories on Literotica. It took him over a month to contact her, and only a week for her to reply to him. Ever since, they would correspond, through emails. No face to face meetings, Skype, pics. Just writing. And she really was mysterious. Still, by that point, Stuart felt he had learned enough information about her (hair color, the city she lives in, her profession) to google it all and see what comes up, what else could be found about her on the Internet. But maybe it was better to keep up the mystery...

Shivers ran up Stuart's back as he began typing away.

 _I want to touch your body. I ache to feel you, all of you. But I only have the weight of your words, the sharpness of your prose. Your hair, face, your curves, are all flashed of details so explicit and vivid that my hands shake as I type this, my heart thundering. It is during the nights like this that I desire you the most, that I'd readily sink into this data, drown into our correspondences, and stay there forever. Just a sheer passion, pleasure... love. No logic, setbacks or guilt._

He sighed heavily, leaning back in his chair. He slowly unzipped his jeans and gripped at his swollen member, stroking at it slowly, her eyes centered on the computer screen, sweet excitement taking over his being. He bit his lower lip, imagining MysteryLady's face as she was reading his message, her cheeks blushing, her hand reaching down in between her legs... He rarely got the response from that glorious woman quickly (not in a matter of minutes at least), but still...

He shuddered upon seeing the reply notification showing up in his inbox. He reached out with his free hand and opened that email, his cock throbbing.

 _My body felt flushed as soon as I noticed a new email notification. Your prose is mesmerizing, your words are haunting. I didn't have a hand free. I can almost feel you, I feel like I can touch you. I hope you are enjoying yourself..._

Stuart cried out upon reading the last sentence, pleasure taking over his senses. He sighed in relief before reaching for the bag of tissues and cleaning himself up, his eyes gleaming with a new light, an idea on his mind. He only hesitated for a moment, before logging out and opening a Google search engine.

He was breathing heavily, sweat coating his flushed skin, as he typed the phrases in the "Google search": dark hair, bangs, Pasadena, design, gold fish. He took a deep breath, his mouth dry, then clicked "Search".

Only a few results... and the one, at the top, seemed to match all the words he had searched.

The title: "Lucy Summers-blog".

Stuart licked his lips as he clicked at the linked. Within seconds, the page loaded. Stuart stared at it, eyes wide, feeling his heart beats up in his throat. That girl had only one photograph of herself, on her own blog-she must have valued her privacy a lot, or maybe she was just shy? That didn't sound good, considering his plan... but that concerns seemingly dissipated due to the next shock: Stuart recognizing that girl. That was that Lucy, the girl that Raj had dated about three years ago. Who would have thought? She looked more beautiful on that photograph than she ever did in his imagination. And in person...?

#

Stuart squirmed in the driver's seat, staring at the house in front of the drive way. He didn't know what actually amazed him the most: that someone so erotic and secretive could be living inside such a house, or the fact that he was that close to the woman he had been desiring for years.

He drained another bottle of water and use his shirt sleeves to wipe the sweat off his face before exiting the car and walking over to the front door, only then noticing that the lights in the house were still on. He walked over to the front door, took a deep breath, then rang a doorbell.

It took Lucy some time to open the door. She had probably looked through the peep hole and didn't recognize him, giving her some concerns. She looked at Stuart in a somewhat suspicious way, keeping a guarded stance. "Yes?", she asked silently.

"I'm Stuart Bloom", Stuart introduced himself, looking around nervously. "The owner of that comic book store, where you... remember?"

Lucy's face lightened up with a look of realization. A slight smile formed on her lips. "Oh, yeah. What do you need?"

"You", Stuart blurted out, before rushing to explain himself. "You're my... MysteryLady", Stuart exclaimed under his breath, both shivering from excitement and concern, and feeling like a ton of bricks was lifted from him.

Lucy's blushed, her eyes widening. She shivered, looking away. "Please leave", she whispered, barely breathing.

"Why?", Stuart protested. "All those months. All those words." He took a step cloder, his body trembling with sensations. "Don't you want to see me? Touch me?"

Lucy took a step back, though a bit calmer now. There was a look of understanding... sympathy... in her eyes. "It took me weeks to work up the courage to... unleash my fantasies", she admitted silently. "Put them out there, even if it was anonymously... and, eventually, share them with you." She sighed, looking at him apologetically. "I am not ready for this. And why spoil a good thing? You mentioned how such things usually work out... remember? And I also figured that, on the Internet... I couldn't really... hurt you."

"How did you even find me?", she asked hesitantly, running a hand through her hair.

Stuart chuckled awkwardly, ignoring an ache in his chest. "Over all those months... you revealed more than you intended. And then... googling... your blog... matching details." He scoffed, looking away. "I know how creepy this sounds."

Lucy smiled slightly. "I'm actually kind of flattered."

"Can I kiss you, at least?", he pleaded, trying to meet her eyes. "Please."

Lucy gulped, her eyes watery. "I... I am not ready for this", she whispered. "I'm sorry, Stuart."

She closed and locked the door behind. Soon enough, all the curtains in the house were on, and soon thereafter, all the lights were off.

#

Stuart slammed the door behind and slumped into his chair, grabbing a few of the papers and a pen, continuing with his work. Creating the only world he felt he fit in, he had some control over. After the first new drawing was done, Stuart stopped and took a long, hard look at his work. Eventually he, more out of self pity than spite, took his smartphone and snapped the photograph of that comic book page, after doing the same with the order ones, then emailed them all to Lucy-MysteryLady-sighing in relief upon realizing that that email was still active. And then he continued drawing.

He lost himself in that work, in that world. The outside world kept fading away. Stuart didn't even notice. Or maybe he did, on some level, but couldn't be bothered to even try fighting against it. Why would he? Nothing but pain and disappointment, there.

Images flashing before his eyes, seemingly growing more and more clear, coming closer and closer, surrounding him. His hand was trembling, but he didn't stop. His chest was heaving, his lungs filling up with some new air, pressure. Drawing was all that mattered, the only things he had left. His creations were his and his only, and they were masterful, vivid, tempting...

#

When Stuart finally came back to his senses, really observed his surroundings, suddenly fully conscious and concentrated, he found himself in the place that was familiar to him yet strange. That was that alleyway, the space that he had created, that neighborhood, area from his mind. But he was actually there, standing there, seeing it all around him, feeling the asphalt underneath his feet, the smell of rotness and blood an attack to his senses.

Upon looking around, he noticed another man in the alleyway. Young, dark hair, well dressed-a spitting image of that guy with a "better" comic bookstore, who almost stole all of Stuart's customers away two years ago, and was still a threat to his business. Stuart stared back at him, fear rushing to the pit of his stomach. The younger man stared back at him, a snarl on his face. "What are you looking at, pussy?", he eventually hissed, clenching his fists.

Stuart screamed and launched himself at him, pinning him down on the floor. He was so taken aback by his sudden outburst (and strength) that the other guy managed to get a drop on him. His hand tightened around Stuart's neck, and in the next moment Stuart was the one slammed against the pavement, the "other owner" on top of him. It was only then that Stuart, despite the ordeal, noticed his clothing: slick and black, just like in his drawings, and, also just like in his drawings, there was a machete hanging at his waist. He made his goal to reach it, but the other party had him pinned and it was hard for him to move his hands, reach for the weapon. Another punch.

In the next moment, Stuart's attacker froze in place, blood rushing to his mouth. He groaned and slumped to the ground, his eyes dull and lifeless. Stuart stared at her in shock before looking up and seeing Lucy standing over the body, a blade in her hand, a blood-stained blade, much similar to his. They eyes met, and she smiled.

"How...?", Stuart muttered, slowly getting up on his feet.

"I received your email", Lucy calmly exclaimed. "Your works drew me in. Just like your writing. It was a perfect combination. This is the end result. The finale. Isn't it great?"

"But..."

Lucy shrugged. "For them, we've been gone for years anyway." She looked around. "I'm not sure how exactly have you imagined this place. But this is the place where we are on the top, where we can finally get our payback, where we can be together, forever. Tempting, isn't it?", she mused, outstretching her hand for Stuart. "And yes, you can kiss me now. And touch me. And do anything else you want to me."

Boldly they rode and well, into the jaws of Death, into the mouth of Hell.

#

Claire shivered, her eyes centered on the last page for almost a full minute. That was the episode that definitely hit "closest to home", due to her own love of drawing and struggles that she had faced at the beginnings of her career.

She felt somewhat uncomfortable with continuing to read that comic book, and felt that she had to get back at developing her ideas anyway, not to mention actually putting them on a paper. But she couldn't resist reading the last story, the one with quite an interesting title...

 **A/N: The quote at the end of this segment is a lyric from the poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade". Which, in my humble opinion, should be included in every horror movie ever. That "other owner" appeared in "The Occupation Recilibration". "The New World" comic book, mentioned in this story, is fictional.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: This is even bigger AU, so to say, because it has Alex meet Sheldon before the Pilot episode, when he was still living with Leonard only and wasn't eveb associated with Howard or Raj.**

 **Like you probably figured, all of there stories take place in a different universe, despite all featuring certain characters, such as Sheldon.**

Sheldon gazed out of the window, solemnly observing the dusk that had settled over Pasadena. Hwe was interrupted by Leonard's groan. His roommate leaned back in his chair, frowning at the partially build metal device on the desk.

"Not working?", Sheldon asked.

"Does it look like it's working?", Leobard replied, frustrated.

Sheldon glared at him. "Leonard, you must be aware that, per our Roommate Agreement, you, as an experimental physicist, are obliged to test my hypothesis once a year, if I have any. Don't give up!"

Leonard sighed, getting back to work. "All this complicated or flat out bizarre blue prints... I'm really starting to think you want me to make a death ray."

"Don't be ridiculous! I wouldn't never assign you for something that important!"

Sheldon was still talking when he opened the door. He came face to face with a beautiful young brunette in front of his door.

"Hello", she greeted him.

"Hello", Sheldon replied, awkwardly. His eyes scanned her body, and he paid a special attention to her face, eyes... and wrists.

"Doctor Sheldon Cooper?"

"That's me."

"I read your ad", Alex explained, already stepping into the apartment. "You are looking for an assistant, right?"

"That is correct", Sheldon answered, nodding his head.

"My name is Alex Jensen", Alex exclaimed, expensive her hand out for Sheldon. He shook it, shivering as he observed the piece of jewelry around her wrists carefully. There was a strange glint in her eyes for a moment, but she was soon back to her calm and professional self. "I graduated "summa cum laude" with a concentration in theoretical physics from Stanford University. They offered me a position at Fermilab, but I've been following your work for years and..."

"That's pretty impressive", Sheldon complimented her.

"Thank you", Alex replied, grinning.

"But I am afraid I will be narednih somebody older. More experienced." He stepped aside. "The door."

Suddenly, Alex attention seemed to shift to the project on Leonard's desk. She observed it for some time, then walked over, with Sheldon following after her. "Nice work...", Alex mused, approaching the desk. Leonard looked up at her, a wide smile on her face. "All yours?", Alex asked, standing a mere inch away from him.

"All of it", Leonard exclaimed proudly.

"But it was all based on my blue prints and calculations", Sheldon interjected, walking over to Alex. Their eyes met.

"Interesting...", she mused, crossing her arms over her chest, before taking another look at Leonard. "You have a very good friend, dr. Cooper", she complimented, making Leonard blush.

"Roommate", Sheldon added, giving Alex a piercing look. "And if you have anything else to say, or do... I am pretty sure now will be time."

"Very well", Alex replied calmly, reaching into her purse. "If you ever consider changing your mind... maybe this could be something of a motivation, brain teaser for you", she exclaimed, handing Sheldon a piece of paper.

"This is a fascinating equation", he exclaimed, his hands shaking.

Alex nodded her head, grinning. "All the way down to a fascinating solution", she confirmed before turning away. "See you... maybe", she said in a husky tone, giving Sheldon a wink before heading outside.

Leonard remained staring after her, his cheeks blushed and his eyes wide, while Sheldon was left with looking at that piece of paper in his trembling hands.

"What the hell just happened?", Leonard exclaimed, his jaw slack.

Sheldon flinched, snapping back to attention. "Work!", he ordered in an unusually harsh tone before sitting at one chair in the very corner of the room and pulling his laptop open.

#

Within hours, the dark night settled over the whole time. Leonard went to sleep as early as of ten pm-though, to be fair, with his "project" almost complete. Sheldon sighed upon entering his bedroom, closing the door behind tiredly. He changed into his pajamas, lied in bed and covered himself up, then finally closed his eyes.

Just when he was about to drift off to sleep, he felt a cold... something like a cold chill, rush, brushing against him. Briefly.

His eyes pulled open. He straightened himself up a bit, then looked around. He saw nothing, and felt nothing. He laid back down and closed his eyes.

Soon enough, more cold. Chill. Sheldon shifted in bed, frowning. He thought that those feelings could be due to stress. But, after all those years, he knew better.

He opened his eyes, finding himself face to face with a ghostly, dark creature right on top of him, it's cold form tightening around his neck. He tried to move, to screen, to fight that creature off, but he found himself being like frozen, paralyzed, and he couldn't even make a sound. He desperately struggles against his invisible restraints, chains, but his body remained motionless, his mouth mute. He felt coldness possessing him, his body growing weak, his heart thundering against his chest, his eyesight growing blurry, cold sweat running down his skin.

And then, he heard the door pull open.

And saw a siluette. A blurry image of a young brunette... with a large, shiny item, instrument in her hand.

There was a barely audible, high-pitched sound.

And a gleam of red light, directed at the creature.

Going through it.

That thing screamed, flames appearing at it's sides, spreading through it's very beginning, all over, seemingly... consuming it.

Sheldon watched, still motionless. The sight of his saviour became a little more clear. He recognized that hair, those eyes... that bracelet...

Finally, that thing was gone, and Sheldon sat up in bed, almost jumping out of it. All that strength, efforts, finally kicked in, once his body was free of those invisible binds. He looked around, breathing heavily, and saw Alex Jensen clearly, his death ray in her hands. She smirked, walking over to him.

"As soon as I set foot in your apartment, I realized what you were doing. A death ray. But a special one. Used to murder demons. Even the most powerful ones. And I knew, when I encountered you, that that would happen. Sooner or later. The way things are... so I manage to kit your apartment key and make the impression in that piece of clay I always carry around with me, because you never know. Luckily, your ray appeared to be pretty much done."

"It is made out of pure iron. The strong light projects an image of a charm, invisible to a naked eye. It is fatal to them. It can kill them quickly, from quite the distance away, more than one in the same time."

"So I made the copy of a key fairly quickly, parked in front of your apartment building this night... and waited. It could have very well gone after me. But it was more likely to go after you. Due to the... techniques you were developing." She smiled. "Congratulations. Works great. Though your cute roommate did much of the... practical work."

"That was a real pain. Though I helped him build some parts. He is an experimental physicist. We both had little experience in building things. I think we should befriend an engineer. Hopefully, the one with the PhD or two."

"Good idea. By the way, I was never really going to become your assistant, of course. I can't, we both know that. I needed an excuse to pay you a visit... take a look at your home... see how you do, who do you hang out with... and, finally, provide you with the knowledge that we both need."

Sheldon stood up, hear rushing up his face. He thought about the way Alex looked at him, the way she looked at Leonard, the way she spoke to the two of them. "Is that why you paid me a visit?", he hissed. "Or you just figured that I could get things done? I wonder do you even recognize me. Do you still stand for... what I do? What we were?"

Alex gulped, feeling an ache in her chest. "You have the ray, and you have the equation", she said dryly, clenching her fists. "I don't have the time to discuss... all this with you, to argue with you. This is something you must decide on your own. Trust, you understand the meaning of that word? Goodbye, Sheldon Lee Cooper. Until the next time... whenever that will be."

They were both lost in that moment, that went on for who knows how long. It was a mixture of emotions, sensations and unspoken yet loud and clear words, a sweet storm they were both happy to get lost in.

But, eventually, they pulled away. Alex did, anyway.

They locked eyes. That final feeling was there. Recognition. Acceptance.

But neither had the courage to say anything.

And Alex left.

#

The bright moolight eluminated the streets of Pasadena. A young man dressed in a will vest just exited the local comic book store, followed by a skinny guy with a curly (and messy) hair.

"That Leonard guy seems cool ", Howard commented."We could pay him a visit sometime. He just got that incredible new videogame!" He frowned. "I've heard some strange things about his roommate... but it can't be that bad, right?"

"I still mantain we should try joining a book club", Raj said. A smirk appeared on his face. "Speaking of books..."

Howard groaned. "Once again, Raj, after the horror that was "Twilight" (and not the horror in a "right" kind of way), I refuse to read any book, story or a science paper that you recommend!", Howard insisted. "Especially not "The Legends of Pasadena"."

"But it's beautiful!", Raj whined. "Man and woman way ahead of their time, who meet back in 15th century and aim to break all the superstitions and show the world that there is a scientific explanation for everything. But that was one thing they were wrong about, because, on their quest, they offended a witch, who cursed them, dooming them to walk the Earth for centuries, basically immortal, and hunt down all the other supernatural creatures. They can't be together, because their presence attracts the evil, which would likely end in harming many innocent people, or even themselves, because, even though they are immortal, demons can't weaken them by stealing parts of their life force. But if they manage to hunt all those monsters down, extinct them, they will get to be together again. Forever!" Raj sighed, a dreamy look in his eyes. "She even still wears the golden bracelet that her love gave her, over half a millennium ago. To make sure he would recognize her, if they were to meet. But every time that happens, instead of re uniting, they must break apart, whenever they get at least little bit close. And don't get me wrong, but some actually believe that that book was inspired by a true story."

"And you still can't figure out why you can't get a date", Howard commented, before continuing on his away.

"You're heartless, dude", Raj protested before following after his friend.

#

Alex sat into her car and sighed before fastening her seat belt. She adjusted her golden bracelet, a sad smile appeared on her face.

"Really, Sheldon?", she whispered to herself. "How could I forget?"

And she drove off into the night.

#

Claire sighed, closing the comic book. Truly intruguing, childlish, even romantic anthology. And aspiring, in a way... but also the kind that leaves you wanting more, needing more.

Claire took one more look at the comic book, then on the date planet on her wall, above the writing desk. With a grin, she put the comic book back in the box and closed it, before putting the box back under the bed, and heading over to the closet.

She finally knew how to finish her latest comic book. She figured it would take her a few days tops.

Giving her just enough time to finally visit planet Earth again.

Luckily, on her planet, those types of trips were pretty common. Their appearence was quite humanoid anyway. Her parents had taken you to Earth a few times, while she was still in middle school. The space ships and fuel were even cheaper now. Ste had one in her garage. They didn't stay long and she heard that it had changed a lot since then, but she looked forward to being there again, at least for a while. Some would often bring souvenirs from those travels, and occasionally sell them, which could explain how she had obtained that comic book.

If that comic book was to go by, it was a fascinating planet to live, even if those stories were just a product of fiction.


End file.
